Thursday, April 28, 2016

Lots of flavor and easy to make....my kind
of side. I always use the Uncle Ben's boil in the bag rice because you cannot
go wrong (and I have in the past with rice). However you choose to make it, you
just need to end up with 2 cups of cooked rice - white or brown.

Parmesan Rice Pilaf

2 cups cooked white rice

2 tbsp slivered almonds

2 tbsp butter

1/4 cup Parmesan, freshly grated

1 tsp parsley

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Add all the ingredients together into the hot white rice. Stir and serve.
Can it get any easier?

Monday, April 25, 2016

I'm still not sure why I picked
up pancetta but it turned out to serve a very good purpose. I was wondering how
to make the turkey breast yesterday and saw the pancetta out of the corner of my
eye and grabbed it out at the same time. I made of quick rub of different
spices and dark brown sugar that I had on the counter for the turkey and then
covered it with the pancetta. The pancetta cooked and turned crispy while it
kept the turkey breast tender and juicy.

Pancetta Wrapped Turkey
Breast

1 - 1-2# turkey
breast or tenders

3 oz pancetta
slices

Rub
-

1 tbsp dark brown
sugar

1 tsp
salt

1/2 tsp freshly
ground black pepper

1/2 tsp chili
powder

1/4 tsp
cumin

1/4 tsp garlic
powder

Preheat oven to
350°. Combine all the spices and brown
sugar in a small bowl. Rub over all sides of the turkey breast and place into a
greased pan. Cover the top of the turkey breast with the pancetta slices.
Cover the roasting pan with a lid or aluminum foil for the first hour of
baking. Uncover for the last 45 minutes or until the internal temperature of
the meat reaches 165°.

Saturday, April 23, 2016

Warmer
temperatures outside, windows open and the music from the neighborhood ice cream
truck made me think of this idea for ice cream. I’ve had an ice cream drink
made out of various liqueurs to taste like a Mounds bar but wanted to try making
an ice cream. The chocolate took over the coconut flavor so I added some
coconut into the ice cream. If you prefer an Almond Joy, just chop up some
almonds or use almond slivers to add into your ice cream when it’s in the
machine.

Mounds
Bar Ice Cream

1 pint
whipping cream

1 13.5
oz can coconut milk

¾ cup
sugar

¼ tsp
salt

2 tbsp
cocoa powder

4 oz
Ghiradelli 60# Cacao Bittersweet

1 cup
coconut

1 tsp
vanilla

In
a large saucepan, combine the cream, coconut milk, sugar, salt, cocoa powder and
chocolate. Stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, cool
and place in the refrigerator for a couple hours. When chilled, add in vanilla
and coconut. Place in your ice cream maker and run per manufacturer's
directions.

Monday, April 18, 2016

It's time to fire up the grill and what better to have as a side than baked beans. I made these using Dr Pepper for an unique flavor that works well with all the ingredients. I used the crock pot but you can make it in the oven also.

Saturday, April 16, 2016

There’s nothing better than spending
a Sunday doing things you love and having dinner cook itself. Last Sunday, I
made this fall apart it’s so tender short ribs and an easy to throw together
Mascarpone polenta.

Crock
Pot Short Ribs & Gravy

1.5#
boneless short ribs

12 oz
beer, use your favorite

1 cup
beef broth

2
shallots, cut in half

Season
and brown the short ribs in 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil. Place into the
crock pot with the beef broth, beer and shallot. Cook over medium low heat for
8 hours. Remove the meat to make a gravy. In a plastic container with a tight
lid, place 2 tbsp flour and ½ cup water. Put the lid on and shake until the
there’s no lumps. Turn the crock pot on high and stir into the juices. Return
the meat to the crock pot and it should thicken in 10 minutes. Taste to see if
it needs any additional salt and pepper. Serve over mashed potatoes or
polenta.

Mascarpone
Polenta

3 cups
water

½ tsp
salt

1 cup
polenta

½ cup
Mascarpone

½ cup
Parmesan, freshly grated

Bring
the water and salt to a boil. Stir in polenta and keep stirring for 3 minutes.
Add in Mascarpone and Parmesan and stir until it’s fully incorporated.

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Peaches and Prosecco...a match that is made in heaven. I combined the two a few months ago to make an ice cream topping. I decided to pair them up again to make jam. I did not use any pectin. I just allowed the jam to gently boil until it thicken naturally. I froze the extra containers instead of canning.

Peach Bellini Jam2# peaches, I used frozen and thawed3 cups sugar1/2 cup Prosecco2 tbsp lemon juiceChop the peaches into small pieces in a food processor. Place in a large saucepan with the sugar, Prosecco and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Skim off foam from the top. Continue to boil until it thickens. Place into containers that you can put in the freezer. Allow to cool completely before putting covers on containers and placing the freezer.

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

This is the easiest side dish and will make the entire family happy. They'll think they are getting a sweet dish but there is no added sugar in the potatoes. They are sweetened naturally with the sweet potatoes, apple and apple juice (I used an organic apple juice). Just a little cinnamon was added in at the end.

Sunday, April 10, 2016

I'm still loving the plump, juicy raspberries in the grocery store these days. I bought another 2 containers....one for baking and another for snaking. Yesterday I made this moist and tasty muffins with a tangy lemon glaze.

Thursday, April 7, 2016

The aroma of garlic and a creamy Parmesan
sauce top noodles and chicken in this tasty casserole. Winter hasn't made it's
departure so comfort food was needed to battle the bitter wind and chilly
temperatures and what better way than with a cheesy baked pasta dish.

Chicken Alfredo

2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

8 oz of your favorite pasta, I used Pasta Artigianale

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

3 tbsp flour

1 cup milk

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1 cup Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp parsley

In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil. Cook the minced garlic in the olive
oil for 1-2 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup of the milk and whisk in the flour. Allow
to cook for a couple minutes before whisked in the remainder of the milk and
broth. Cook until it thickens and add in seasonings and Parmesan cheese. Toss
in pasta and chicken and pour into a greased casserole. Top with 1 cup of
shredded mozzarella cheese and bake for 30 minutes at 325°.

Monday, April 4, 2016

Berries were on sale. They are so juicy and sweet they can be eaten alone but I decided to create a simple dessert with them (ok, I did snack on a few during the layering process). I've always liked lemon with both berries that I used, so I went with a mild lemon sponge cake and a lemon mascarpone cream.

Lemon Berry TriflesCake -3 eggs, separated1/4 tsp salt1/2 cup cake flour1/2 cup sugar3/4 tsp baking powder1 tbsp water1/2 tsp lemon zestIn a medium bowl, whip together the egg whites and salt until soft peaks form. In another medium bowl, sift together the cake flour, sugar and baking powder. Add in the egg yolks, water and lemon zest. Gradually fold in the egg whites. Be careful not to over mix. Line a 9" cake pan with greased wax paper. Bake for 25 minutes at 350°. Let cool before turning out and cutting into small cubes.Lemon Cream8 oz mascarpone, room temperature1/4 cup sugar1 tsp lemon zest1/4 cup lemon juiceMix all the ingredients together in a small bowl.LayerCake CubesLemon Cream Berries - I used blackberries and raspberries

Saturday, April 2, 2016

It's a chilly day outside - still in the 20's at noon which is unusual for this time of year. I was out doing projects and decided to make a pot of soup to help warm me up. I had a Parmesan rind in the freezer so I threw that in for extra flavor and then topped the soup with some freshly grated Parmesan for an extra salty bite.